The emotional and irrational fears of a worldwide meltdown dragged the market down to ridiculous levels last March.  The bounce back from these super-lows has been improperly characterized as a market rally.

On March 9, 2009 the S&P 500 Index closed at 676.53, which was the result of worldwide panic based on the unknown.  Were we headed into a massive worldwide meltdown?  How low could the market go?  Shortly after March 9th I concluded that there was no rational justification for the market to be as low as it was.  I was confident of an upturn once people starting thinking rationally again.  I just wasn't confident whether it would take months or years.  As it turns out, people have very short memories.  The scars from the fear of the meltdown didn't last long at all.

Today we heard that Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for his Ponzi scheme.  He received the maximum sentence.  Did anyone really expect anything less?  The judge heard from many victims and they demanded the ultimate punishment.  Now, everyone should move forward.  The victims have to live without the resources they once thought they had.  Some victims have lost their homes or are being forced to sell their homes.  Some foundations and charities have greatly reduced their operations and some have even closed their doors.  All this suffering because of one man's greed.

For those who weren't victimized by this crime, this is a good time to reflect.  Apparently this can happen to anyone.  Madoff's victims included close friends and family.  I'm sure you've heard about due diligence when selecting a financial advisor.  Just before his arrest in December, Mr. Madoff probably had a very high FICO credit score, was probably current on all his bills and was a well respected money manager and former Nasdaq chairman.  I have not heard of many people choosing not to invest with Madoff because of a due diligence investigation.  There is one person who testified before Congress that he repeatedly tried to get the SEC to investigate Madoff's firm with no results.